Fear In Animal Farm

At the heart of a seemingly simple, unassuming novella lie political issues that occurred in Russia during and after the Russian Revolution in 1917. George Orwell’s allegorical ‘masterpiece’ as some would say, stems from his own opinions and detestation of the class divide. He shows that an egalitarian society is unachievable, when some characters that exercise power within Animal Farm use forms of both psychological warfare and physical threats in order to keep the ‘lesser’ animals under their control in order to maintain their society which supposedly follows the principles of Animalism; that ‘all animals are equal’.
The pigs employ various tactics and express ways of thinking that convince the animals that they are better off than they had

This means the animals fear not only what could happen, but threats to their physical wellbeing too. In some cases, the animals are subjected to situations where both psychological and physical fear are present. Life for the animals changes significantly several times throughout the novel. First, Jones introduced a physical fear factor, where the animals were disciplined with whips, and death was of almost common occurrence. Each animal would then work past their capacity, whilst living in poor condition, death being seemingly inevitable once they had outlived their use. When the pigs introduce punishment and a death sentence for committing crimes against Animal Farm, many animals are ‘slain on the spot’, moreover, this is the first time since Jones’ displacement when there is blood spilt on the farm. Napoleon creates his own personal guards, who also punish the lower animals who betray Animal Farm. These ‘dogs wearing brass studded collars’ are a force none of the working-class animals wish to cross, for when they do, harsh repercussions follow. The animals that had confessed to their heinous crimes were executed by the dogs who ‘tore their throats out’. By doing so, the animals experience physical fear for the first time since Animal Farm was formed. By making an example out of these animals; some of whom had apparently associated themselves with Snowball, other members of the working class do not want to speak against Napoleon, or the slain animals’ fate could also become theirs too. In this case, both psychological and physical fear control the animal’s actions and